28
My Villains Chapter 28
8. The Mill and the Undertaker (2)
I hesitated for a moment at Ellen's request to leave, but eventually left the room.
Well, I had a lot to do anyway, so it worked out.
First... My shoulder plate was completely ruined, so I needed to buy a new one. The helmet, breastplate, boots, and gloves also needed repairs.
Ah, I should also ask them to put an iron rim on the shield. On the way, I'll buy some special bullet materials for Ellen to use.
Having received four gold coins for catching the lizard, I had more than enough to spare.
As I left the room where Ellen was staying and went down the stairs, I saw Daria resting her chin on the bar with a blank expression.
"Daria."
"Oh, Phoenix. How's Ellen? Is she feeling better?"
Wow, those eyes are full of consideration. Daria gives the impression of someone who grew up well-mannered. I don't know the details, but I imagine she must have grown up in a rather harmonious family.
"She's still groaning a bit, but I think she'll recover soon. She seemed quite energetic."
"That's a relief. What's that?"
As she said that, stretching out her left hand, the flower ring on her index finger caught my attention. Fortunately, the color hadn't faded yet, so it looked quite nice.
I feel proud.... Surely, that's not ragweed, right?
Thinking that, I showed her the cap for the helmet.
"There's something I want to fix, but I'm not having much luck. Are you good at sewing?"
"Well, I can do it to some extent. What do you want to do with it?"
"It's nothing major, just on the inside here..."
After listening to my explanation, Daria quickly showed her skills by adding fabric and stuffing it with cotton in no time.
...'To some extent,' she says?
"Wow, this is almost sewing machine level?"
"Sewing machine? Who's that?"
"Uh— nevermind. You look free right now?" At my question, Daria let out a deep sigh.
"Sigh, I'm free now. But soon I have to go get some flour milled..."
As Daria spoke, an unmistakable look of worry appeared on her face. What could be wrong?
Only after I asked several times did Daria reveal the situation.
"There's only one mill inside the city walls that commoners can use. It's in a bit of a remote location, so I'm hesitant to go."
"What? Can't the owner go instead?"
"He can't be away from his post for too long. You know how the atmosphere is these days..."
Well, most of the criminals who were publicly executed yesterday were robbers and murderers.
I heard there were also some who broke into inns and taverns, killed the owners and staff, and looted food.
Despite this, the lord of the castle was unable to pay enough attention to public safety as he was busy defending the city walls and docks.
The patrol force of the guard hadn't changed much from before, and there were many unsolved crimes.
Seeing the worry in Daria's eyes, I hesitated for a moment before asking, "Um, where is this mill located?"
"To the west. There's a stream flowing there."
A stream? Could it be?
"Is it... A water mill by any chance?"
"Yes. Why?"
...This, this is a must-see!
"The west? Then— I was planning to go to the workshop, want to go together?"
"Really? I'm grateful, but..."
Daria placed her hand on her chest and gave a bitter smile, as if apologetic.
"Ah... I feel so bad. First last time, and now this because of me."
"It's fine, really. You helped me with the sewing, so I should return the favor."
After my repeated persuasion, Daria finally smiled slightly and nodded.
I put my armor back inside and came down to leave the inn with Daria. She was taking half a sack of barley to be milled.
Well, oats can be roasted with their husks and made into something like a pie, or boiled into porridge, but barley is too scratchy to eat as is. Milling it to make bread would make for a much better meal.
As we chatted about various things, we soon arrived at the workshop.
Ilton was busily moving around, taking the equipment I had entrusted to the craftsmen.
I also bought a new shoulder plate similar to the broken one, and the vambrace and greaves I had been eyeing before.
Both were high-quality plate armor; the vambrace covered up to the elbow sufficiently, and the greaves had a structure that tightly bound the calves, making them incredibly sturdy. All together, the shoulder plate, vambrace, and greaves cost two gold coins.
Even adding the six copper coins I handed over for repair costs, it was quite a reasonable price.
Satisfied with the transaction, I left the workshop feeling incredibly light-footed, having left most of my equipment for repairs.
It would be nice to walk around like this all the time.
The clanking of the buckler and falchion was a bit annoying, but without them, I'd be too anxious to walk around, wouldn't I?
I was worried about the henchmen of Kingpin, no, gang boss Ubar, but we were heading towards the mill via the lord's tower, the workshop, and the city gate, so there were guards nearby the whole time, which was reassuring.
Additionally, according to Daria, there shouldn't be any gangsters in this area.
The mill was indeed in a remote location with few people around, but Daria said that even this neighborhood had its own districts.
This is a neighborhood where people like tanners, millers, and executioners live together.
Daria explained this while constantly looking around.
"Still, it's just as creepy. There are a lot of strange rumors about the people in this neighborhood."
"Strange rumors?"
"Yeah. Like tanners hiring beggars to steal livestock, executioners being behind bringing in horse thieves, millers taking some of the grain during milling and mixing in sand. You know, those kinds of rumors."
Listening to Daria's story, I'm somehow reminded of the butchers or executioners from the Joseon Dynasty.
Their jobs are similar, and while they earn a lot of money as professionals in their own right, they're also despised, which is another similarity.
Indeed, people are the same everywhere.
...Then, perhaps the water mill too?
Lost in pleasant thoughts and excitement, before I knew it, we had arrived at the mill.
The mill was covered with yellow ocher-colored tiles, a building made of bricks stacked over the stream.
Unlike the image I had in mind, the water wheel didn't rotate vertically like a cart wheel, but lay horizontally.
It was a structure where water flowing in from the stream was poured through a narrow hole, using the resulting water power to turn the water wheel, and as the wheel turned, it moved the mill through a pole attached to the axis...
It looked different from what I'd seen in folk villages. I spent a while looking at it out of curiosity.
The mill workers were all wearing brown clothes as if they had coordinated. They took the grain from us and told us to wait in a nearby barn.
I stayed quiet since Daria retreated obediently... But is this okay?
"By the way, Daria."
"Yeah?"
"Didn't you say the miller mixes sand into the grain? Shouldn't we be watching them?"
"Nah, if we watch them, they won't even start working. And if we try to peek, we'll be in big trouble. Even if you're a famous warrior, they'll come at us with all they've got."
"What? Why?"
It turns out that millers are also skilled craftsmen in their own right, and you can't learn milling techniques unless you become their apprentice.
Well, even if it seems trivial at first glance, isn't technology always expensive intellectual property? They wouldn't want outsiders to steal their techniques by watching over their shoulders.
Of course, I have no complaints. It's not like I'm going to learn milling techniques anyway.
Thanks to this situation, I'm even grateful that we can sit cozily on dry straw and chat about various things with Daria.
It would have been nice if the barn was a bit more... Well, secluded.
Daria, who had been chatting casually, suddenly untied the wide cloth she had tied like a headband. Her light red hair cascaded down like a waterfall.
"Shall we play hide and seek?"
"Hide and seek?"
What's this now? Even elementary school kids probably don't play hide and seek these days.
Ah, but- this world doesn't have computers or smartphones, right? Is it really that strange for grown-ups to enjoy such games?
"Haven't you played before?"
"Well, I have played it before."
When I answered with a dubious expression, Daria smiled brightly and covered her eyes with the cloth.
"Then I'll hide first. We can't leave the barn, okay?"
"Alright, got it."
The barn wasn't very spacious, so we had to move quite carefully.
If I really put my mind to it, I could confidently tease Daria by circling around her all day long... But these games are usually more fun if you let yourself get caught occasionally.
Daria, who had been carefully approaching after hearing my footsteps, suddenly leaped and grabbed my waist.
"Kyahaha! Got you!"
"Puhaha! Hey, why are you so enthusiastic about this?"
"I'm naturally quite competitive. It's your turn now!"
Daria, clapping her hands in joy, untied the cloth and handed it to me. The cloth that Daria had tied in her hair was infused with a subtle fragrance.
It was different from the intense shampoo scent commonly smelled on Earth. The faint body scent mingled with the soft lime fragrance was closer to a natural scent.
Ugh, I feel like my heart is wavering.
I swallowed dryly as I covered my eyes with the cloth.
As I tied a knot at the back of my head, I could feel Daria running away, letting out a laugh that sounded like a triangle chime.
"I'm here, Phoenix! Over here!"
Daria shouted playfully as she ran around different parts of the barn.
She tried to trick me by kicking a pitchfork on the floor to make noise and tapping the opposite wall with a pole hanging on the wall. Daria used all sorts of little tricks to try to deceive me.
"Hehehe, not there! I'm over here!"
Ha, how cute.
However, Phoenix's senses had already transcended the realm of ordinary humans. Daria's breath and movements were as clear to me as if I could see them.
So, to play along with Daria, I needed to do a bit of acting.
I pretended to be fooled by her tricks, throwing myself in the wrong direction, or chasing her closely and barely brushing the hem of her skirt with my fingertips.
I fumbled along the wall above Daria's head as she crouched in a corner, and pretended not to hear her escaping breath as I turned around.
In the midst of these playful antics, Daria, who was being chased by me, must have stepped on something wrong and lost her balance with a "Kyaa!" sound.
I instinctively pushed off the ground and leapt to catch Daria. But then-
"Oh."
"Haa, huu, th-thank you..."
Suddenly, Daria's rapid breath in my arms tickled my earlobe.
I was holding her waist and shoulders, and Daria had both hands on my chest, breathing heavily.
"Huu, hu, huu-"
Beyond her slightly trembling hands, I could feel her chest rising and falling as she tried to catch her breath.
...Leaving my breastplate at the workshop was a stroke of genius. Through the thin cloth, I could feel the soft and ample sensation, and the sound of her heart beating like a drum.
At that sensation, I suddenly held my breath. This made Daria's breathing even more distinct.
Her breath, which passed my cheek and reached my nose, had a faint mint scent mixed in, making it unbearably sweet.
Wow, this is a bit dangerous, isn't it? It's hard to resist.
"...Daria, are you okay?"
I tried to maintain my composure as I moved to pull down the blindfold. Or rather, I was about to.
"W-wait."
A trembling hand grabbed my hand as it moved towards the blindfold.
Her soft, delicate hand entwined with my rough, large one. The excitement or trembling flowing through our interlocked fingers made the hair all over my body stand on end.
The sweet breath on my lips, followed by a soft and moist sensation, startled me.
"Oh"
Our joined hands seemed to stiffen a bit.
But that was only for a moment, soon something soft pushed between my lips.
Ending the brief kiss, her lips left a moist breath on the tip of my nose as they moved away.
Savoring that scent, I used my thumb from our interlocked hands to pull down the blindfold.
The sunlight leaking into the barn was illuminating Daria's eyes.
Wow-
Like the Mediterranean Sea viewed from a castle in Nice on a summer day.
Those sea-green eyes, moist with emotion, seemed to grab me by the collar. I couldn't look away.
Whether it was due to the hide and seek or the kiss, Daria's eyes sparkled as she caught her breath.
My instincts pulled her close and embraced her.
I kissed her with rising passion, and Daria responded by wrapping her arms around the back of my neck.
What's suddenly happening? Am I allowed to be this happy?
Ugh, but- in games or novels, something always happens at times like this. Surely that won't happen to me... As I was having such idle thoughts, suddenly a loud noise erupted from outside the barn.
Bang.
...I had a bad feeling about this.